$50,000 award for mid-career SA artist
Arts wrap: A leading South Australian sculptor has been awarded the annual $50,000 Guildhouse Fellowship. Plus – your first look at next year’s must-see Fringe acts.
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Sculptor and contemporary artist Michelle Nikou has been awarded this year’s $50,000 Guildhouse Fellowship to research and develop new work.
Nikou, 57, uses a diverse range of materials in her work and said the fellowship recognised the importance of “consistent creative exploration”.
“This opportunity represents a pivotal moment in my practice, enabling me to explore new directions, undertake extensive research, and create work that pushes the boundaries of my artistic expression,” Nikou said.
The year-long fellowship for a mid-career SA artist was introduced in 2019, backed by the James & Diana Ramsay Foundation and the Art Gallery of SA, which will exhibit the resulting works in 2026.
Bubble act pops up for Fringe kids
When it comes to “soap stars” Adelaide duo Bubble Factory have really burst onto the international festival circuit with their fantastic floating spheres and tubular tricks.
After a year touring the world with their latest act Bubble Show in Space, Dr Bubble and Milkshake – alias performers Kurt Murray and Iulia Benze – will bring the show to Gluttony as part of the Adelaide Fringe’s kids program in February-March.
The duo has been creating bubble shows since 2011, toured to more than 20 countries and even performed on TV talent shows in China, Romania and Bulgaria.
Murray first experimented with bubbles as a street performer in London, where he met Benze.
“It’s quite incredible the way you can push the physics of the bubbles,” Murray said.
“Bubbles are one of the first things that we see when we’re babies … it combines all those feelings and emotions that tap back to every inner child.”
In Bubble Show in Space, the pair find machines that turn bubbles into space helmets and people into puppets, and launch their own bubble rocket 10 metres into the air.
Murray and Benze will also perform their more raucous and raunchy Adult Bubble Show for late-night Gluttony audiences.
Other family friendly highlights of the Fringe’s kids program include Swash Buckling Circus at Fool’s Paradise in Victoria Square, Monski Mouse’s Baby Disco Dance Hall and Baby Cabaret shows at The Garden of Unearthly Delights, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at Norwood Concert Hall.
Full program and tickets at adelaidefringe.com.au
All fired up for a life on the Fringe
Adelaide Fringe events will stretch over more than five weeks next year, with the Garden of Unearthly Delights opening on February 14, a week before the festival’s official start date.
Hollywood star Teresa Palmer, comedians Rhys Nicholson and Michelle Brasier, and First Nations singer-songwriter Nancy Bates will take on the mantle of ambassadors for the 2025 event.
Fringe director Heather Croall will launch the 2025 program at Plant 4 in Bowden on Friday morning, in her first public appearance since undergoing surgery to remove a malignant melanoma from her left shin three weeks ago.
Among more than 1300 shows at 500 venues across South Australia are the premiere of singer-actor Hugh Sheridan’s new show Something Big at the Arts Theatre, circus cabaret Wonderfully Terrible Things at parklands hub Gluttony, and an important anniversary for “German” superstar Hans: Young, Fun and 21!
Ms Croall said new international acts in the program, which officially runs from February 21 to March 23, include the Australian premiere of “showgirl” extravaganza the LadyBoys of Bangkok.
“It’s been the longest-running show in Edinburgh – I think that’s going to be a big hit,” Ms Croall said.
Venues were also extending throughout the city and suburbs.
“It’s great now that we’ve got more than 150 pubs doing Fringe – that is a real change over the last decade,” Ms Croall said.
“Of the million tickets that we’re selling, there are 500,000 or 600,000 that aren’t in the East End, so lots of people are going to shows in the suburbs.”
Sheridan, a former Fringe ambassador and star of TV’s Packed to the Rafters, said he loved returning for his home town event.
“The Adelaide Fringe festival is the best in the world … everyone knows it,” he said.
Wonderfully Terrible Things performer Christine Ibrahim said her show, like the Fringe itself, was a mix of “highbrow art meets lowbrow art”.
“It’s allowing people to revel in the taboo, without any shame and with full curiosity,” she said.
Hans, aka performer Matt Gilbertson, said his show was a “coming of age story” to mark his 21 years on stage.
“Fringe is the time of the year that Adelaide comes alive … it’s so unique,” he said.
Fringe ambassador Palmer recently sold her family’s Scott Creek home and relocated to Byron Bay where her husband, actor Mark Webber is developing a TV show, but said the festival had always been “a special part of our community”.
“I’ve always admired how the Fringe celebrates bold and unique voices,” Palmer said.
Other acts at Gluttony will include SA acrobatic troupe Gravity & Other Myths’ latest international touring hit The Mirror, circus show Primal and the risque superhero cabaret MARVELous.
The Garden’s season is headlined by the world premiere of new variety show La Ronde, a revamped version of Limbo – The Return, and comedians including Ross Noble, Tommy Little, Mel Buttle, Arj Barker and Dave Hughes.
Tickets go on sale at 10am from adelaidefringe.com.au
Five Fringe shows not to miss
Limbo – The Return
Spiegeltent, Garden of Unearthly Delights, February 14 to March 23
This Fringe favourite, which has gone on to tour 17 countries, has been given a fresh makeover with an intoxicating mix of circus, acrobatics, cabaret and ecstatic, heart-pounding live music.
LadyBoys of Bangkok
The Octagon, Gluttony, February 21 to March 23
A long-running hit in the UK, with a glamorous cast of 16 of the world’s most beautiful showgirls (who just happen to be men) direct from Thailand, in a glamorous and funny cabaret show with flamboyant costumes, immaculate make-up and showstopping choreography.
The Mirror
The Octagon, Gluttony, February 20 to March 23
Adelaide’s own world-class acrobatic physical theatre ensemble Gravity & Other Myths brings its latest international touring hit back to its home town, complete with an LED wall, cameras and selfie sticks.
MARVELous
The Flamingo, Gluttony, February 26 to March 10
An outrageous parody of Marvel superheroes and other beloved films like Dirty Dancing, Magic Mike, Flashdance and The Greatest Showman, with aerial acts, live vocals, dance, stunts, and a risque edge.
The Dome
Dom Polski Centre, February 21 to March 23
A stunning program of 11 different experiences, including The Planets 360 which reimagines British composer Gustav Holst’s orchestral suite as an immersive surround sound and visual spectacle.
Tickets go on sale at 10am from adelaidefringe.com.au
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